Von Eicken Three Stars

The nutty, earthy, woody, molasses sweet burley takes a light lead over the Virginias, which offer a little dark fruit and earth along with some citrus and grass. The fruit topping is hard to define as some of it has been lost to time, but I suspect it is citrus-based. It doesn’t tone down the tobaccos much. The strength is a couple steps past the mild mark, while the taste is just past the center of mild to medium. The nic-hit is just past the mild threshold. No bite, no rough edges. Burns cool, clean and slightly slow as curly cuts often do. The fermented sweet and lightly savory flavor is consistent from beginning to end. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires some relights. Has a short lived, pleasant after taste and room note. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

Three Stars was a naturally enhanced curly cut tobacco of Burley and Virginia. I smoked a 1980's tin of this tobacco several years ago and really enjoyed the flavor presentation. Somewhat stronger than what I expected, and the very light hint of fermented fruit told me that the tobacco had been given a light spray of some kind of natural fruit that had long since dissipated. With all the aging, it was extremely smooth and had absolutely no bite. The flavor was unique and enjoyable.

Notes: No longer produced. I have smoked about four ounces of this in several pipes. I like it best in an Ashton XX, as it is a good fit for the cut of the tobacco.

Appearance: Dark brown dense 1 cm discs mixed with lighter brown to dark brown thick cut ribbon. A cut twist, similar to Escudo Or Gawith and Hoggarth's Curly Cut.

Aroma: Yeasty sweet rolls, cherries, paper, smoke, maple sugar candy, old books.

Taste: Sweet, rich, German fruity aromatic flavor. Black cherries and smoke over a soft, palatable cavendished Virginia flavor of decent tobacco.

Comparisons: This is quite similar to Saint Bruno Flake or Brindley's English Slices, although it is a bit softer owing to the cavendished leaf.

Bottom Line: Unlikely to be found, as it is long since discontinued. This is a fun, easier curly cut blend for those who enjoy Saint Bruno and other rich, strong cherry-fruit Lakeland style blends.